In a time of high unemployment and rising costs, Mitt Romney’s secretly recorded comments describing 47% of the nation’s voters as “dependent on government” have hit a nerve.

In the video, shot at a private fundraiser this year and published Monday by Mother Jones magazine, Romney tells donors that supporters of President Obama don’t pay income tax and can’t be convinced to “take personal responsibility and care for their lives.”

The group, according to the Republican presidential candidate, is made up of people “who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to healthcare, to food, to housing, to you name it.”

Reactions to Romney's remarks about the 47%

Mitt Romney should just talk to an empty chair this morning. That way he can't offend anyone. #RomneyEncoreMichael Skolnik

#RomneyEncore If you think about it, Romney managed to cut the "We are the 99%" down to "We are the 47%" in just one day.MattheGriz

So, anyone still unsure about the power of viral video? #RomneyEncore #GangnamStyleCharter Marketing

100% of the "47%" (waitresses and waiters who were serving Romney's white tablecloth dinner) just early voted for #Obama. #romneyencoreBrooklyn Middleton

That awkward moment when #Romney realizes the majority of the alleged 47% live in red states that overwhelmingly support him.#RomneyEncoreEric Wolfson

Many came to Romney's defense. The candidate himself said Monday that while his quotes from the videowere “not elegantly stated,” he would continue to back the message.

In that video, Romney accurately described problems with our entitlement society. People who support an entitlement society don't like it.AG

not a Romney fan, but also not a fan of people who use entitlement as an excuse not to do anythingvictoria

I just have to say this and move on. I thought what Romney was videotaped saying at that fundraiser was right on target. He shouldn't back off of his statements one bit and not even worry about how it wasn't articulated. It was perfect. For once, we get to hear this guy unfiltered and speaking his mind, without slicking it up. He needs to do more of that. He should thank the guy who sneaked that camera in, because he did him a huge favor. That 47 percent he was talking about? Accurate.Tony Peters

Economists and other experts from Harvard, the Tax Policy Center and more began breaking down the numbers.

Mitt Romney's 47 Percent: Doing the MathRepublican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, as you have all heard by now, has been caught on tape telling a group of campaign donors tha...